shout out

(Yeah, I know, I'm of all the wrong demographics to use that phrase, but it's a blog entry title. You'll live.)
My blog buddy Paul, whom you may also know as my lucky charm from this summer, has exciting news. Ascendant Pictures has picked up his "spec" (apparently Hollywoodese for story? Pitch? Query? More than an idea but less than a script? Help me out, Paul.), Grounded. As Variety reports, Grounded tells the story of an intergalactic dictator who goes undercover as a high-school science teacher after crash landing in Nebraska. This is a good setup, if you ask me. I'll watch it.
I stumbled across this bit of news on Paul's blog while looking for an interview he did recently with Patton. Paul knows I'd known Patton before and am a fan of his; when he told me he'd scored the interview and asked if I'm still in touch with him, this is what I told him (I'm including it here mainly because he then replied, "Everything you said in this e-mail was awesome." And what writer doesn't love a review like that?)
"Get out! I loves me some Patton. I e-mail him when I can; I suspect that to him I'm just another fan with the vague added knowledge that I attended William and Mary with him, though he's told me he doesn't remember me from there. One of my best friends worked on the college newspaper with him, and I used to tag along to their (lively) parties; that's how I'd met him there. As you can imagine, he was sort of the life of the party and I was just a listening admirer. So I can see why I'd remember him and he wouldn't remember me. Of course, in our adult lives, I've reintroduced myself, attended a show of his in DC on our way through town, gotten his autograph (so he's at least *seen* me in person briefly after a show), and sent him occasional e-mails. Sadly, he won't come to Pittsburgh any more, as my townsfolk apparently booed him offstage when he made anti-Bush comments. Way to have open minds--they made me very proud. Even more sadly, I had known about that show and decided not to go, just sure I'd catch him next time. So now in order to see him, we have to travel. But we have him set up as a wish list on TiVo, so TiVo watches him for us and tells us when he's on. Good TiVo."